God’s Presence Among His People

Transcript

GR 2057
11/11/2018
God's Presence among His People
Revelation 21:3-8
Gil Rugh

We're going to Revelation 21, the last book in your Bibles and the next to the last chapter. In some ways we might say God saved the best for last; this is the last book in our Bibles and this is the last revelation given from heaven to God's people. It was written by John, the penman, about 95 A.D. And most of the other apostles, if not all of them, had passed off the scene, men like Paul, the Apostle. The Apostle Peter had been dead for some 25 years by the time John wrote these truths. We are reminded, there was information given that had not been revealed before. Not everything is new in the book of Revelation. In some ways it is a very unoriginal book, from the standpoint there are hundreds of allusions and references to the Old Testament in the book of Revelation but no direct quotes. But what the book of Revelation does is organize the prophecies that God had given before. It brings order to those prophecies. It was God's will not to unveil these final truths until what we had given to John.

So many of the events were talked about and prophesied in the Old Testament. We have looked at those as we have moved through Revelation, but the unfolding of the order of events. And we noted that was true with Revelation 20 where, for the first time in all the Bible, we were told that the eternal kingdom promised and prophesied for the Messiah on this earth would have an initial phase of 1000 years. So that's new material and it helped put into perspective some of the things revealed in Old Testament prophecies that were mixed in with matters that happened after the thousand-year phase of the kingdom. Now, we have some order established.

After Revelation 20, at the end of that thousand-year initial phase, we saw a rebellion by Satan and many on the earth who had been born during that thousand years but had never trusted Christ, the One ruling over the earth. They joined Satan in his rebellion, they were killed. Satan is cast into hell and all unbelievers were gathered before the Great White Throne judgment where every unbeliever will someday be called to stand before Christ and be sentenced to an eternal hell. That's how Revelation 20, as we have it in our Bibles, ended.

Then Revelation 21 brings a stark contrast. “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth passed away and there was no longer any sea.” Now we were told in Revelation 20:11, “Then I saw a Great White Throne, Him who sat upon it from whose presence earth and heaven fled away and there was no place found for them.” The present earth and heaven are removed, and we talked a little bit about what that might entail.

But whatever it is, Revelation 21 begins, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth.” Why was that necessary? “For the first heaven and the first earth passed away.” So, the reason we need a new heaven and a new earth is the first earth and heaven had passed away, fled away. Different word, but gives you the same idea. The first earth passed away, so in some ways we can say we are looking for the second earth which is the new earth. There is some discussion about whether this is “this old earth renovated” or it is “totally new.” There are good men on both sides of that issue. I am somewhere in the middle with maybe tilted a little toward the “old renovated.” But as I go back and study it, every time I study it I may tend to tilt one way or the other. If it is this earth renovated, it is going to undergo a renovation that is going to transform it in huge ways. We looked at 2 Peter 3 and we read there that this present earth is going to be burned up, and we were told the very elements, the stoikia, the foundational principles that make it what it is, are going to melt down. So, if it is this present earth, it is going to be totally made new. Or if it is a new creation altogether, the issues are basically the same, it depends on what you want to emphasize.

For example, it is called the new earth, so it is not creating something new that we have no identification with. It is a new earth, whether it is renovated or a new creation, it is connected to this old earth. Even the fact that it is said at the end of verse 1 “there is no sea,” connects it to something we can know about in our present earth. The present earth has seas; in fact the seas are what sustain it in the cycle of life. We sometimes refer to a water-based system, as I read some. But the seas are key. If He took the seas away, you couldn't keep the cycle going. But the new earth won't have any seas, in that sense it won't be water dependent. But there will be water there, there will be the water of life as we will see even in this passage before us. And then we will see it in Revelation 22, there is no sea.

So, we have the first earth passed away. And by the time we get to the end of verse 4 we'll see the first things have passed away. The first earth and the first things, all those things we'll talk about shortly associated with the first earth are gone. But there are elements. We see the New Jerusalem in verse 2. We know about the old Jerusalem, it is present to this day, but there will be a New Jerusalem on the new earth. Some of these facts are clearly stated here; just how God brings it all about will remain to be seen. In this second earth that follows the first earth it will have a New Jerusalem that follows the original Jerusalem. There are connections and yet there are clearly dissimilarities. That's part of the glory that we look forward to, whether it is a renovated earth or a totally new earth, it has connections to what we know about, but it is a transformation so great.

Come back to 1 Corinthians 15. I mentioned this in our previous study, but we didn't look at it. 1 Corinthians 15 is the great chapter on the resurrection of the body and the transformation of the body for those who receive glorified bodies. And this raised some issues. Look at 1 Corinthians 15:35, “But someone will say, how are the dead raised and with what kind of body do they come?” Now sometimes people think I say things that could have been said in a more kindly, gracious way. And that is probably true, I am not inspired. But even Paul, who is inspired, could get exasperated. You ask this question, with what kind of body do they come? Well that's a good question. No, he says, verse 36, “you fool, why would you ask such an ignorant question?” Someone in our questions and answer times on Sunday night may be concerned about asking your question that I will respond like this. But I will try not to. If I do, it's probably because I don't know the answer to your question so I am trying to divert attention. But, “you fool.” These are things we are expected to know as God's people. We are not without knowledge. If we are not dealing with Scripture, probably it means we don't know what we are expected to know.

Verse 37, “That which you sow does not come to life unless it die, that which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or something else, but God gives it a body just as He wished. To each of the seeds a body of its own, and there is different flesh, a flesh of men, a flesh of animals, a flesh of birds, of fish. There are heavenly bodies, earthly bodies, each has its own glory. One glory of the sun, another glory of the moon,” verse 41, “a glory of the stars. Every star differs. So it is with the resurrection body.” What he is emphasizing here, there is a glory that is unique to each thing. And when we get our glorified bodies it will be . . . How will you describe it? You put that shriveled seed in the ground. Now if you didn't know anything else, you would say what is that shriveled seed going to produce? It will produce a bigger shriveled seed. Right? I mean, it will reproduce after its kind. We misunderstand that portion of Scripture. So, a little shriveled seed, it will produce a big shriveled seed. But it doesn't. That little shriveled seed produces something that has its own glory, that splendid beautiful flower. We say it is hard to believe it came out of that little seed that didn't have much beauty at all. He says that's what we are talking about when we talk about the glory that God has promised. It just explodes.

And that will be true of the new heaven and the new earth. In one sense it is connected, it is a new earth. He doesn't say it is something new that you have never seen. So, it is connected. It will have the New Jerusalem. We know something about Jerusalem, but it is going to have a glory, we'll read the description of the New Jerusalem in our future studies, it is nothing like the Jerusalem I have seen when I was there or I watch on the news. It has the same name, but it defies description in one way, except God describes it. This is what we are dealing with.

Come back to Revelation 21. Now that's not an excuse not to know what God has revealed. We know there is a coming new heaven and a new earth. We are going to get some descriptions about it and some characteristics of it that we are required to know. Something of the fullness of glory that will characterize that, we are not able to grasp now. But it is a new heaven, a new earth. Why? “The first earth passed away, there is no longer any sea. I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem.” Well, that's the same way the old Jerusalem is described. Isaiah calls Jerusalem the Holy City, it is referred a couple times that way in the New Testament. But this is the New Jerusalem which is the Holy City in the fullness of holy, in the purity of the holiness that has not existed in Jerusalem to his extent before. “The Holy City, the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God.” When did it come into existence? Where has it been during the first thousand years? Well it has been in heaven because now it comes down out of heaven from God. It is “made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.” And we can now follow the connection back to Revelation 19:7ff where the church is described as the bride and we have made ourselves ready to be unveiled. And here the New Jerusalem, which is evidently the permanent residence of the bride, it is the bride's city.

So we are getting some information about things. It comes down out of heaven from God. So evidently it has existed but it has existed in heaven until this point. When did it come into existence? Some connect it to John 14 when Jesus said, “in my Father's house are many dwelling places. I go to prepare a place for you.” Whether that is the case or God has created this in a special way for this special time to be part of the second earth, the new earth. It hasn't resided on earth until this point. So, while we may not have full clarity on all the details, perhaps it has been in heaven during the first thousand years and glorified saints will go back and forth to earth like the angels do. It doesn't matter, they are not constrained as we are. The only time an angel is bound by distance, we get an insight in Daniel where one angel sent from heaven was restrained from getting to Daniel for three weeks by a demonic angel. Other than that, traveling is not a problem. So, we could be in the New Jerusalem in heaven during the first thousand years and administering the earth. Some of the details are not given. Some writers speculate maybe the New Jerusalem will be suspended between heaven and earth. But here it comes down out of heaven, so we'll have to leave it there. “And made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.” So, we call it the bride's city, and it is adorned as a bride ready for her husband because this is where the bride of Christ, the church, will reside throughout eternity.

Then verse 3, and we have been through these opening verses, that's why we are not developing them. “I heard a loud voice from the throne.” And some commentators have made note that this is the first direct reference to God clearly speaking from the throne since Revelation 1:8. Now there are voices that come out from the throne but it is not clearly stated it is God speaking from the throne. It may be angels who serve in the context of the throne. But here is a direct reference again. “I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘behold the tabernacle of God is among men, He will dwell among them. They shall be His people, God Himself will be among them.’” That reference to God speaking from the throne is verse 5, I have it too early. The “loud voice from the throne,” we don't know whether it comes directly from the Father or from an angel speaking. Down in verse 5, “The One who sits on the throne will say, behold,” then we know He is the speaker. That connects to Revelation 1:8. That loud voice he hears from the throne announces, and this seems in the context what is happening. We now have the second earth, the new earth. We have the New Jerusalem coming down from heaven to reside on the new earth. And we are told here that “the tabernacle of God is among men and He will dwell among them.”

Again, terminology connects, and this is not new in the Bible. When Moses was given the pattern for the tabernacle in the Old Testament, back in Exodus 19, it said it was the pattern after what was made in heaven. We see this in the book of Hebrews where we have the reality in heaven, the pattern on earth. That was for the tabernacle and then it was followed in the temple as well. But we have seen in the book of Revelation that the tabernacle is in heaven, it's the tabernacle of God.

Come back to Revelation 13:6, and “the beast opens his mouth in blasphemies against God to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, those who dwell in heaven.” So, the tabernacle and God's people dwell in heaven. In Revelation 15:5, “After these things I looked and the temple of the tabernacle of testimony in heaven was opened.” So, heaven itself, the pattern of that was set down in the Old Testament tabernacle. What was present with the tabernacle? That was the place where God came to meet with His people. So, when God, His presence, His glory descended, the cloud manifests His presence there among His people. Then sometimes He called Moses to meet Him or things like that, the presence of God among His people. Doesn't happen with any other nation, it happened with Israel. God dwelt among His people in the tabernacle.

Now we are talking about the permanent presence of God in heaven. That's where the true tabernacle is. We studied Hebrews where God's presence is most fully and clearly manifested among His people. That is in heaven. Now this loud voice says, “Behold the tabernacle of God is among men and He will dwell among them. They shall be His people, God Himself will be among them.” So, with the New Jerusalem coming down, as we will see as we move along, God's throne will be in the New Jerusalem. Now it is in heaven where His throne is and that's where He manifests His presence most fully. John was caught up to heaven, we saw in Revelation 4. In the Old Testament He would come down and be with His people but then He would go back to heaven. Here, for eternity, we will dwell in the presence of God and people will be able to come to the New Jerusalem through one of the gates and see God the Father on the throne, as well as God the Son. And the presence of God the Holy Spirit. It is going to be a unique time.

That will be what is going on. That is why it is stressed here, “His dwelling place will be among men, He will dwell among them. They shall be His people, God Himself will be among them.” These are the only people here now. The earth has been destroyed by fire, whether it is a renovating fire or a complete destruction. Now on the new earth God will dwell permanently among His people. And those are the only people who will be here, His people. He will dwell among them.

“They shall be His people, God will be among them.” One passage from the Old Testament, come back to Ezekiel 37. In Ezekiel 36 we have what we call the New Covenant, the promises. Ezekiel 36, Jeremiah 31 promise the New Covenant. We talked a little bit about this in a previous study in connection with our communion. You come to Ezekiel 37:13, “Then you will know that I am the Lord when I have opened your graves, caused you to come out of your graves, My people. I will put My Spirit within you, you will come to life. I will place you on your own land.” So, you see those promises for Israel's future. Down in verse 21, God is going to gather His people back to Israel. Some of this is related to the first thousand years of the kingdom, some of it will be for the later time.

Verse 24, “My servant David will be kind over them, they will all have one shepherd.” And note the end of verse 25, “David My servant will be their prince forever.” This reign, while the first phase of it is a thousand years, it goes on through eternity. Certain things are accomplished in the first thousand years. “I will make a covenant of peace with them, an everlasting covenant with them,” that's the New Covenant. “I will place them and multiply them, I will set My sanctuary in their midst forever.” So you see that is what we see, now the ultimate final fulfillment of this where God's dwelling place, His tabernacle, His sanctuary is in the midst of His people. “My dwelling place also will be with them. I will be their God, they will be My people.” You see that the Spirit has directed John in Revelation 21 to take that from Ezekiel. This is where we see him now putting things in place for their final order. Now we have the second earth, the new earth, God will come and dwell on this. All sin and remnants of sin have been removed. Sin and sinners, angelic and human, are in an eternal hell. This is the point of the earth being renovated by fire, whether it is totally destroyed or just renovated. The point is all elements of sin have been removed. It's like the purifying refining fire to take out the dross. The only thing left is that which has been purified. Now God can dwell here permanently and He will.

With that, verse 4, and it gets better if it could, but what impacts us, the things associated with the first earth are gone, they are not here. Verse 4, “And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, there will no longer be death, there will no longer be mourning, crying, pain.” Why? “The first things have passed away.” Up in verse 1 the first earth passed away, now down at the end of verse 4 the first things have passed away. The things associated with the first earth and its fallen, sinful condition, the impacts of sin, all that came in. “The wages of sin is death” and all that came with the impact, they are gone. The first things passed away with the first earth, the first thousand years have served the purpose of God in demonstrating finally the sinfulness of man resonant in his human heart. The environment has been fixed, Satan was not operative. All you had to deal with was the sinful human heart, and yet we saw in Revelation 20:7, after a thousand years and a perfect environment with a perfect King, without the influence of Satan, man's heart hasn't been changed. And for a number that you can't count they would, given an opportunity, rather have Satan as their king than Christ.

Now we have dealt with that. The unbeliever has been cast into hell, the old earth has been removed one way or another, it has gone through a meltdown, the stoikia have melted the very elements that make it up. It is renovated, it is ground up, made new, whichever. Now “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, there will no longer be death, there will no longer be mourning, crying, pain. The first things have passed away.” They are gone, they are done, they will never come again. That's why I say you can emphasize, these things pass away means they are gone for good. That same language for the first earth, that may mean it is gone and a new one has been created or the renovation of it is so complete down to the stoikia, the basic elements that it is new. However. it becomes new, it is new, it is not the old. I don't want to be called a fool, but understand this earth may be a seed but the glory of the new earth, whether it is made totally from scratch or it is just renovated, understand don't want to fall on one side or the other. If it is totally new, it is connected to the old because it is called the new earth. It doesn't have a sea like the old earth, it has Jerusalem like the old earth so write your commentary. Everything associated with it, what is pain, suffering, crying, death, think about that. How do we think about what life would be if we didn't have to face death yourself and the death of your loved ones. There was nothing that would cause you grief or sorrow, pain, bring tears to your eyes. They are all gone. It is hard for us even to sit down and try to conceive of such a glorious, wonderful place. We never lose a loved one, we never have a loved one suffering. One of you that works in the hospital mentioned, “I'll be out of a job.” Yes, wonderful, isn't it. But you won't need a job because we won't be scraping by to make a living.

Come back to Romans 8. I have alluded to this passage in previous study but want to read it with you. Romans 8, and here Paul is talking about the fact that we are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. Romans 8:16, “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God. If children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.” Now how do you even measure this? An heir of God, a fellow heir with Christ. What do you say? I can't even begin to tell you the riches that are mine in glory. That's why we want to lay up treasure for ourselves in heaven. What counts in this life? It's a life lived for the God that we serve, the Savior that we have. I'm an heir, and this is, I'm just getting a glimpse of it. It grieves me, people say I don't want to study Revelation, I'm not interested, I don't care about my inheritance, I don't want to be told what God has promised me. What world do you live in, you fool? What do you say? Here we are, “We are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.” That's how Paul could endure what he endured in this life.

Verse 18, “I consider the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” You can't compare it, that keeps him going. We get so attached here that death is overwhelming, that suffering seems to ruin our life and all that we plan to enjoy. But for us as believers, it hasn't ruined anything. I didn't plan for my enjoyment here, I didn't plan for my “retirement” here. I'm not against people enjoying relaxation, vacations, even retirement, but we don't want to lose focus. This isn't it for us. Jesus talked about those that for them, this is everything, He said they ought to eat, drink and be merry because tomorrow you perish. You have nothing that will last, you better enjoy everything that you have right now. We are in the midst of moving. It's amazing how much stuff Marilyn collected, this stuff that you pull out and say, what in the world did we buy this for. It just becomes stuff.

Let's get back to Romans 8. “The creation was subjected to futility,” verse 20. We can't rescue it. “The creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope.” In other words when Adam sinned he brought the whole house down. The animals didn't sin, but they are impacted by the sin. The trees and flowers didn't sin, but they are impacted by the sin. The whole creation has been impacted but it groans now because verse 21, “it will be set free from its slavery and corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. And the whole creation groans, suffers the pains of childbirth until now, and we also groan.” We have the Spirit of God within us, we have a foretaste.

Israel had a taste of it with God descending in the Shekina, the glory cloud, in their midst. We have a greater privilege—God dwells within us in the person of the Spirit. There will come a time when the fullness of what God has prepared, and the dwelling of His presence permanently—Father, Son and Holy Spirit. So, the creation is groaning. The ultimate, we began the realization of this in Revelation 20 with the first thousand years, but there was still sin to be dealt with, there is still corruption to be removed. We needed a second earth to replace the first earth, and the first things have to be done away with—tears, suffering, death, crime. The first things passed away with the first earth. Praise the Lord for that. That's why Peter wrote in 2 Peter 3 that we don't want to become attached here because all these things are going to be burned up. Doesn't mean we can't have them, we can't have a home, we can't have possessions, but those things can't have our heart. He gives us good things to enjoy but my heart belongs to the Lord and the future He has promised to me, to us as believers.

Do you have any doubt about this? This is when He speaks again for the second time, clearly. “He who sits on the throne said behold I am making all things new.” This is a creative, sovereign work of God the Father, whether it is the recreation or whether it is a total new work. “I am making all things new.” That is great, panto, all, all things new. We have a description and by His grace He deals with us to enable us to make some connections here but when we get there and see it, we're going to say I didn't have any idea it would be like this. I know what He says but this is far beyond what I could conceive of in my state then. “I am making all things new. He said to me, write, for these words are faithful and true.” Do you have any doubt about what we just read, whether that is really going to happen? God says I guarantee it, John, write it down, write the words down. Don't just give them a general idea, you write the very word that I told you. He gave an instruction like this for John, you get the idea maybe he has gotten caught up and neglected. He is supposed to be making a record here. Very specific, you write this down, you write “these words are faithful and true.” That's why you have to write it down, that's the amazing thing.

We take for granted this Bible. We spend a lot of time, why do we spend so much . . . We've been in Revelation forever. No, it just seems like that, but we haven't. We get tired of studying the Bible. But we have to be careful. Do you know what God said about Israel? “You have become weary of Me, you find Me tiresome.” God is looking at my heart, He knows what I am thinking. Lord, I have been through this a lot, I'm tired of it, I'm weary, I'm looking for something fresh and new. Not like the psalmist, he said that what God has said is new every morning.

Do we get tired or God? These words are faithful and true. Maybe the world is pushing in on me and I am getting more and more conformed to the world which means I am less and less conformed to God. These words are faithful and true, they will come about. This is truth, this is what will happen. Now think about that. There will come a time when you and I will be living this out as God's people. That's amazing. These words are faithful and true. “Forever, O God, your Word is settled in heaven. Heaven and earth will pass away, My words will not pass away.” That's why we believe in the verbal inspiration of Scripture, and we want to translate it as carefully and correctly in light of what God gave—the Old Testament Hebrew, some Aramaic, New Testament Greek. Can be translated into other languages but very carefully so that God's words are His Word to us.

Then verse 6, “Then He said to me, it is done.” You see the statement here. “I am making all things new. Write because these words are true. It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.” As He has told the Old Testament prophets, “there is no God before Me, there will be none after Me.”

The Alpha and Omega arre the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. We sometimes use the expression, from A to Z, it means we encompass everything. This is the Alpha and the Omega, He is the beginning and the end, there is nothing before Him, there is nothing after Him. He alone is God, He is the One making all things new. “These words are faithful and true, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.” And then, amazingly, He inserts the promise here, “I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life.” The water of life. There is no sea in the second earth, the new earth, but there is water, the water as we will see that comes from the throne of God. It's the water of life. We will see in Revelation 22 the tree of life that people can freely partake of.

Remember when sin entered the picture, Adam and Eve had to be exited from the Garden of Eden. Why? Lest they eat of the tree of life and live forever. Why is that bad? Because they had become fallen beings, they would have been forever confirmed in their lostness. But now the redeemed partake of the tree of life freely. Sin is gone, there is no sin present. The water of life is here and it is an invitation—“I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life,” you ought to underline those last two words, “without cost.” That's the corruption that seeps in. Well, I go to church, I have been baptized, I partake of communion because I want to go to heaven. That won't get you to heaven. Joining this church, attending here won't get you to heaven. The only thing that gets you to heaven is partaking of the water of life.

You can't read this without thinking of John 4, turn to John 4. John 4 and then we are going to jump back to the Old Testament for the Old Testament background. This is where Jesus meets with the woman of Samaria at the well and He is sitting there by the well, they are taking the shortcut through the land of Samaria, Jesus and His disciples. The disciples have gone on to do some errands and a woman comes out to the well, and you had to have a little jar or bucket to lower down to get your water out. And Jesus says, would you get me a drink, I am thirsty. That's not so unusual because in those days somebody came to draw from the well, a person is thirsty. What is unusual here, this is a Samaritan woman and Jesus is a Jew. And she can't believe a Jew would ask a Samaritan for a drink of water, because remember the Jews and Samaritans have nothing to do with each other. And the end of verse 9 reminds us of that, “Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.” Note what Jesus said, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is who says to you, give Me a drink, you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water.” Living water. And she says you don't even have anything to get down into the well to draw it up with. How can you give me a drink?

And this well here is of special significance, it was dug by our father, Jacob, going back into history. Jesus said do you know what? “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again,” verse 13, “but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst. But the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water, springing up to eternal life.” You see it pictures the life you get in Christ. They could appreciate that in that desert region—dusty, dry. Water. And here the picture is that is what He does to you spiritually. It is a water that doesn't have to be replenished because when you partake of it, it becomes replenished in your soul. But she first has to deal with her sin and recognize it, recognize who He is.

Come back to Isaiah 55, this is not new. The way of salvation has always been the same, it is a gift from God to those who will place their complete trust in the promises God gives. Isaiah 55:1, “Ho everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. You who have no money, come buy and eat, come buy wine and milk without money and without cost.” You see the picture is I have something to offer you freely, no cost to you. Down in verse 6, “Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to the Lord, He will have compassion on him; to our God, He will abundantly pardon.” And the promise about God's Word in verse 11. “So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth, it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, without succeeding in the matter which I sent it.”

The amazing thing is, God offers salvation free. Man corrupts it and says here is what you have to do to earn it. No, you have to recognize you are a sinner, guilty before God. And be willing to turn from my sin and place my faith in the promise of God, that the salvation He has provided in His Son will be my cleansing, will bring life to my parched soul.

We have had people who have attended Indian Hills and never trusted Christ, they never partook of the water of life. Somehow, they thought that attending Indian Hills, that meant they were saved. They listened to the Bible, they learned things about the Bible but they never trusted Christ. They might have grown up here, they might have been brought here by a friend or a family member but never came to trust Him. Isn't that terrible? Here is the water of life, God says, I will give it to you freely. No charge to you, I paid the penalty that you couldn't pay, it is a price far beyond what you could pay. “The wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus.”

Come back to Revelation 21. We will have this promise given again in Revelation 22 as we get to the close of the book. We will wait and look at it there, then. But he says in verse 7, “He who overcomes will inherit these things. I will be his God, he will be My son.” John wrote about overcoming in 1 John 5, we won't go back there but he says basically, “who is he that overcomes but he who believes that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Then he comes back to faith, believing faith. “He who overcomes will inherit these things,” all that I have promised—the new heaven, the new earth, the New Jerusalem, eternal life. How do I become an overcomer? You believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. He is the One who loved you and died for you, He is the only One who can save your lost soul. “I will be his God, he will be My son.” Amazing, the intimacy of relationship God offers to establish with us sinful, hell-deserving human beings. But the salvation He provides is so complete that He can call us His sons. He is my God, I can call Him my Father. I am His son, He cares for me. Does it get any better than that?

But Scripture is honest. We sometimes don't like the truth, even as believers. I've shared with you, some who claim to be believers have departed from Scriptural truth. Hell is too terrible a concept, I cannot bring myself to believe that God would sentence people to an eternal hell. You know God is honest, He speaks the truth. “These words are faithful and true,” He said in verse 5. Note what He says in verse 8 in contrast to what He has just been saying about giving the water of life, about inheriting the things that He has promised, to be our God and we will be His children. “But for the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, immoral persons, sorcerers, idolaters, all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” You know you don't get a true presentation of God's Word when all you hear is God is love, He is compassionate, He is kind. We get these flowery, fanciful concepts. I read in a news article and someone had done a terrible crime and they are talking about, they killed a person and they said I will see you in hell. And the mother said no, my child is in heaven, you are the one . . . People don't have any concept of anything they are talking about. We just don't want to believe in the reality of hell so everyone we think is a good person, meaning we, in the world's eyes that have done good things or they have tried to make the world a better place. None of that matters. You understand good people to go hell because God says, “there are none good, there is none righteous, not even one.” So, anybody who says they are good apart from the goodness, righteousness provided by God in Christ has deluded themselves. They are the unbelieving.

You note this list here and it is an interesting list. We don't have time to work through each one and don't need to, they are self-explanatory. The cowardly and perhaps those who for whatever reason were afraid to believe in Christ. In the tribulation you could be executed, in some countries in the world today you could be executed for believing in Christ. Or family members, or this. But for whatever reason we just couldn't bring ourselves to believe. And the consequences would be too great. Unbelieving, they don't believe. They are abominable.

We think those kinds of people we can see they deserve it—murderers, immoral persons, sorcerers, idolaters, all liars. There are three of these lists, I believe, in Revelation, there is only one of these particular sins that is mentioned in all three. Do you know which one it is? Liars. I say this because we sometimes, even as Christians, we get like the Pharisees, we pick out this sin, this is the big one. I mean, murder, is there anybody who doesn't agree that murder is wrong? Even if the unbelieving world doesn't want to call it sin, they will say it is wrong to murder somebody. I mean, that is something we can agree on. Liars? How do you get ahead in the world if you don't lie? I mean, turn on the television, watch the news, somebody is lying. But those aren't the same kind of things. I never killed anybody, I didn't ever do anything abominable. And pretty soon we as Christians lower . . .

You understand “the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked above all things. I the Lord search the heart, I try the motives.” We can't lose our perspective. If we do, who is going to tell the lost and dying world about their dire condition? That's like I have a piece of paper in my pocket and on it is the cure for cancer, but I know people that have cancer won't want to hear what I have to say so I'll just keep it there. Or I tell them I realize you are a good person and we trust God will be merciful to us all. No, I have to pull it out and say do you know what? You are dying, there are only two gates, there are only two roads, there are only two destinies. You haven't entered through the narrow gate, you are on the broad road. That broad road can never lead you to life, you have to come through the narrow gate. Jesus said, “I am the door, I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father but by Me.”

So, the contrast is stark—the water of life or the fires of hell. Remember the rich man in Hades in Luke 16? Oh, if someone could just come and dip their finger in cold water and touch my tongue. I am tormented in this flame. Hell is more awful than I can think, than I can conceive. But the contrast God draws here, “you can have the water of life without cost,” at the end of verse 6, or “you can be burned in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” That's the contrast. We say anybody in their right mind would choose the water of life. Yes, the whole body is sick, the mind is corrupted, sin makes you stupid. How else do we put it? Would you like the water of life that is yours for eternity or the fires of hell which will be yours for eternity? Well, what's the catch? How much will it cost? It costs more than you can pay, but God has paid what only He could pay so it is free to you. Well I have my religion, you have yours; I have my beliefs, you have yours. Everybody has their own interpretation of the Bible, I just don't believe . . . I'm sorry, these words are faithful and true. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. He will give you the water of life without cost, but there is no bargaining over it. There is only one way. And we as God's people want to appreciate that.

He is going to go on now to talk about the glory for the bride, but He doesn't do that until He goes back again and makes the offer of life to the unbeliever and reminds them of the dreadful consequences. Now we can talk more about the glory that God has prepared for us and those who are His heirs, co-heirs with Christ.

Let's pray together. Thank You, Lord, for the riches of Your word. Lord, thank You for the book of Revelation, that after many years You approached John the Apostle in exile on the island of Patmos with Christianity seeming to be beat down, Your faithful servants having been martyred and You brought to him a final word that brings together the prophecies of the long ago prophets, truth revealed by the apostles and prophets of the New Testament. But now You put it together and add information and details. Lord, how blessed we are to come and study this truth. Lord, we would be motivated by it. We are living for the world to come, the new earth, ultimately; we are living to be pleasing to the One who called us to Himself. Lord, we want to bring life, the water of life, the message of truth, the Gospel which is your power for salvation to everyone who believes. Lord, we pray that by Your grace this might be a day of salvation. We pray in Christ's name, amen.